Rajnikanth

The Tamil megastar of the 80s and 90s he was one of the highest earning actors at his peak. He has also worked in Hindi, Telugu and Kannada and even an English film. Born in Bangalore (India) he was the son of a police constable. He was employed as a bus conductor before he joined the Madras Film Institute. He made his debut in Katha Sangama (1975) and became a star with Apoorva Raagangal (1975). His unique acting style is characterized by a trademark gesture: flipping a cigarette in the air and catching it in his mouth. His dark skin and heavy-lidded eyes have made him the hero of the lower classes. His fans conduct poojas on huge cutouts of Rajnikanth just before the launching of his films to ensure his success. His fans collect opening day ticket stubs of his movies and even buy them at exorbitant prices. Directors cannot 'kill off' his character in the movie for fear that the theatre will be burnt down to prevent future runnings of the movie by his 'crazed' fans who consider him almost a god. He is said to "explode like a tiger on screen".